Healing The Wounds Of German Colonialism

May 19, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Humor Tags: Annalena Baerbock, Colonialism, Germany, Greens, Guilt, Nigeria Leave a comment

In a country Germans never set foot in, much less colonized?

Seems like there’s just never enough guilt to go around these days. But hey, if it makes you feel good, I mean virtuous, run with any guilt you can find (or steal, or make up).

But you know, personally, I think sending Nigeria 20 Greens instead of 20 Bronzes would have been a much nicer gesture.

Germany had hoped that by returning 20 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria last year it was “healing the wounds” of colonialism and righting a historic wrong.

But when it emerged that ownership of the repatriated objects will pass to the king of Benin rather than the Nigerian state, Berlin found itself facing a PR nightmare.

“The government has recklessly consigned African world heritage to oblivion. The pieces will vanish into the private possession of a Nigerian king.”

“This should be a wake-up call to end the hyper-moralism in the whole restitution debate.”

This Gives “Lord Of The Lost” A Whole New Meaning

May 14, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Hurt Feelings Tags: ESC, Eurovision Song Contest, German, Germany, Language, Liverpool Leave a comment

German Of The Day: Schlusslicht. That means taillight. As in last place. Again.

This has now become a tradition, I guess. It’s very strange. Russia would have received more points. With Putin singing.

This can’t be true! We got the fewest points again! We brought up the rear at the Eurovision Song Contest once again. And that despite the quite striking performance of “Lord of the Lost”.

Green Hydrogen?

May 12, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: Climate, CO2, Energy, Greens, Hydrogen, Politicians, Renewables Leave a comment

Do you mean green like in pink unicorns or like in red herrings?

I see. As in both.

How Germany’s Hydrogen Boom Stalled – Green hydrogen has the potential to heat millions of homes and keep German industry humming. So far, though, a lack of the environmentally friendly gas and the infrastructure needed to transport it have prevented its wide-scale use.

Welcome to the sobering hydrogen reality. While Germany hopes that it will soon be able to run basement gas heating systems on hydrogen, steel manufacturers are converting their production to the green gas at a cost of billions and energy companies are planning new power plants that will generate electricity from hydrogen, almost everything needed to make the climate-neutral dreams a reality in the near future is still lacking. The environmentally friendly hydrogen is missing, as are the pipeline networks to carry it across the country, not to mention reliable business models.

Talk The Talk

May 11, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: Climate, Climate Hysteria, Costs, Economy, Energy, Greens, Politics, Polls, SPD Leave a comment

But walk the walk? And give up one of my many annual vacations, say?

Thanks, but we’ll just stick to the talking, if you don’t mind.

This, folks, is “saving the planet” rhetoric in a nutshell.

Germans Want Climate Policy – Just Not in Their Homes. A new law about home heating reveals political constraints on the energy transition.

Polls show that Germans are earnestly worried about the climate crisis and in favor of more climate action. The fallout of global warming is one of their most pressing concerns, indeed as it is across Europe. And yet, when it comes to modifying their lifestyles or paying higher prices to curb emissions, most say they’re not willing, or only as much as it doesn’t sting.

Kanßel Kultur

May 10, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, History Tags: Academia, Cancel Culture, Censorship, Free speech, Germany, Leftists, Media, MSM, Woke, Wokeness Leave a comment

Looks like the Germans beat you to the draw on this one, cancel culture commissioners.

But chin up. The methods you use to silence the un-woke are much more effective.

Nazi book burnings in Germany – archive, May 1933 – 10 May 1933: Students in uniform around the country burn thousands of books deemed to be un-German.

Thousands of curious spectators lined the pavements this evening to watch the procession of Nazi students on their way to a gala on the Opera Square, where they burned a huge quantity of “un-German” books. The students, who were in uniform, escorted six vans of the doomed books, as well as confiscated emblems of the Jewish fraternities.

Germany May Be Arming Ukraine

May 8, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: Armies, Arms, Defense, Germans, Germany, Military, NATO, Ukraine Leave a comment

But it clearly has no intention of arming itself.

This is still considered news?

Germany is finally focusing on defending NATO, but its military ‘lacks almost everything’ it needs to do it, a former German general says.

In the early years after the Cold War, the military of the reunited Germany — comprising the West German Bundeswehr and parts of East Germany’s National Volksarmee — was a large, well-trained, and well-equipped force.

In 1990, that force had almost 500,000 personnel. Today, the German military is just 183,000-strong, and it can’t meet its recruiting goals. In 2018, half of its jet fighters and none of its six submarines were rated ready for combat. In 2022, German commanders complained that their Puma infantry fighting vehicles were plagued by defects.

Country Saving The Planet Consumes Enough For Three

May 4, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: Climate, Consumption, Earth Overshoot Day, German, Germans, Germany, Greens, Language, Overconsumption, Overshoot Leave a comment

“Am deutschen Wesen soll die Welt genesen.” That’s something like: The world shall be healed following the German way.

Overconsumption: Germany needs 3 planets – On May 4, Germany exhausted its capacity to sustain itself. This “earth overshoot” will be compensated by taking finite resources from poorer countries — and future generations.

Despite the economic slowdown due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany has now overreached its sustainable biological limits.

Meanwhile, this year’s global Earth Overshoot Day is, like last year, projected to be around July 28.

Not “Takes” A Time-Out

May 2, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: Arguments, Boris Palmer, Censorship, Free speech, Greens, Racism, Reason, Virtue Signalling Leave a comment

He was given a time-out. By the Brain Police.

This guy isn’t a racist and everybody knows it. He was just making a point by intentionally using an “incorrect” word. But the Woke never get the point. It’s just not their thing. Boris, leaving the Greens is probably the best thing that ever happened to you.

German mayor takes ‘time out’ after using racist slur – The mayor of Germany’s southwestern city of Tuebingen said Monday that he’s taking some “time out” after coming under fire over the weekend for using a racist slur.

Boris Palmer also said he’ll resign from the Green party following criticism over his repeated use of a racist term for Black people at a conference Friday, which prompted some attendees to walk out in protest.

Pre-Game Show

May 1, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: Berlin, Communism, Demonstrations, Germany, Marxism, Marxists, May 1, May Day, May Day Riots, Socialism, Tradition, Violence Leave a comment

It only makes sense to warm up with a little senseless violence before the real, official senseless violence begins.

May demonstration in Berlin: police report riots. “Bottles and pyros” thrown – At least one stone was thrown at police during a demonstration in Berlin on the eve of May 1 with around 3,300 participants. One woman was arrested.

On the night of May 1, demonstrators attacked police officers in Berlin-Kreuzberg. During a left-wing queer-feminist demonstration on Sunday evening, participants threw bottles and firecrackers at the police.

German Of The Day: “Under Review”

April 28, 2023 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: Business, China, Deficits, German Language, Germany, Taiwan, Trade Leave a comment

That means business as usual.

Business links between Germany and China are under review – It is unusual for a foreign minister to tour a factory, but it shows the importance of business ties between Germany and China. The country is Germany’s biggest trade partner and an important destination for foreign investments in several industries that are the backbone of the Mittelstand (mid-size companies). Yet as the value of trade increased for the seventh consecutive year in 2022, the bilateral deficit widened.

Observing Hermann

“Was interessiert mich mein Geschwätz von gestern?”

Category Archives: Habitudes